Wet pet gazette y2001 issue

The Journal of the Norwalk Aquarium Society
regulations, and species we may find.
Whether you are interested in native fishes,
just want to get out of the house, or simply
From Up-front
want to watch everyone splashing around in
the water, this can be an excellent way to
spend a day. This trip will be held on the DEP
free fishing day in early June. Further details
has already been working to make this year an
probably give me a sound thrashing if I don’t
take a moment to remind everyone that dues
First, and very importantly, February 4, 2001
will be the date of our annual auction to
benefit the Nature Center for Environmental
Activities. All of the proceeds from this
auction are donated to the Nature Center as
Officers and Directors
our thanks for all of the effort they give us
throughout the year. I hope to see everyone
there to help out and spend some money.
We have been discussing the possibility of a
Anne Broadmeyer 775-0030 anne@broadmeyer.net
bus trip this year. Various destinations have
been discussed, and the Board seems to think
that Boston would be the best choice. It is still
too early to give any details and we’re still
open to suggestions if any of you have ideas.
Gary Krasilovsky 227-7066 gary.krasilovsky@snet.net
Next, I have been in contact with the State
(DEP) about the possibility of a freshwater
Note: All phone numbers are area code 203 unless otherwise noted
collecting trip. They gave us a number of
suggestions about possible collecting sites,
Editor’s NotebookMy Experience withApistogrammanijsseni
This month we have a brand new author for
the Wet Pet Gazette: Rich Grenfell! Rich’s
first article is about his success in breeding
the Bolivian Ram. Great article, thanks Rich!
Everybody at one time or another who is as
This month Ed Katuska again brings forth his
seriously involved in the tropical fish hobby as
I am, has had a quest or dream of spawning a
should win a first place prize. I love it.
I am also starting what will be a recurring
Apistogramma nijsseni (I am mostly interested
series, “Oh – That’s One Of My Favorite
in South American dwarf cichlids, especially
Fish.” Believe me, it will be a while before I
Since the early days of my hobby, when I first
This month we have two golden oldies, one
saw this particular fish at the home of a club
each from Emil Bella and Walter Stevens Jr.
member, I decided that I had to have this fish
You know, back when Walter was writing, he
and eventually spawn it. But this was not going
to be that easy, as I will explain later. This club
ahead of the Wet Pet Gazette with his book
member had some fry but they were too small.
I patiently waited for a couple of months,
purchased half a dozen juveniles and threw
We also have a reprint by Gary Smith of the
Hamilton and District Aquarium Society on
They were about one-half to three-quarters
Peat Divers. I didn’t translate the article, so
inch total length (TL). I guessed that the bigger
readers could enjoy the full flavour.WE NEED YOUR ARTICLES!
which proved to be true. A few months later, to
Write up a few! I’ll take them in any format.
females. The males were already about one
An article does not need to be long in order to
and a half inches TL and the females almost
make it good. Take the time to spread the
one inch. They seemed to grow more rapidly
information that you learned. If you haven’t
than the other Apistos I have in my collection.
bred a fish, write about what you like about
The males were already forming territories.
Squabbling among the females was the order
of the day, so I decided to separate them. I set
up a so-called breeding tank. I used a five
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
gallon tank, some gravel, a few plants, and a
the shell. I kept waiting but did not see the
half coconut shell with a small hole in one
female coming out of the shell, so I decided to
side. For filtration, I used a sponge filter. Then
investigate. I removed the shell from the water
I put two females and one male in the tank. But
and to my surprise, eggs -- tiny red eggs, about
I soon found out that this was a big mistake
30 of them, so I put them right back and started
because the females almost killed each other. I
to count the days. But nothing -- no fry. I
thought that I had learned from my previous
without this type of problem, but I guess this
mistake with A. agassizi -- but no! (I also had
was not meant to be with nijsseni. I quickly
removed one of the females ending up with
In the next month, the fish spawned a few
A few water changes later, I noticed that the
more times with the same results -- no fry. At
female's color had intensified to a bright
this time I said to myself the next time they
yellow with its typical contrasting black
spawn, I will remove the eggs and hatch them
blotches. It was a sight to behold! I started to
artificially. I would gamble. I set up a two and
get excited about things to come. I knew from
a half gallon tank using pure rain water. I put
previous experience spawning other Apistos
the coconut shell with the eggs into it with an
that the color intensification of the female
airstone and a few drops of methylene blue --
signifies her readiness to spawn soon. But a
few months went by and -- nothing. I guessed
the fish were not sexually mature yet.
To make a long story short, out of about 30
eggs, 14 hatched and grew up to be 14 males -
not one female! I had read in some books that
chemistry. I had read that this particular fish
the pH influences the sex of the fish. If the
required very soft, acid water for breeding. For
water is too acid, you get mostly males. The
my water changes, I was using 75% pure rain
rainwater had a pH of 4.5, so this could be a
water and 25% tap water. With this mixture, I
possibility. I will never know. The only thing I
was getting a pH reading of 5.5. The softness
know is that I finally had spawned the fish I
of the water I couldn't measure, but I guessed it
always wanted to spawn. But the quest is not
to be soft. The temperature was set at 80
over. It still remains. It will end when I finally
see the beautiful female nijsseni swimming
By this time, the male was about two and a
quarter inches TL and the female one and a
Footnote: Since I wrote this, I have fulfilled
half TL. I guess the fish were seven to eight
my dream! My nijsseni female can be seen
months old. I noticed the female shaking her
parading about her tank with her brood.
body in front of the male and immediately
swimming into the coconut shell with the male
together. They repeated this for a few hours
with the female finally chasing the male out of
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
length. I put them into a 46-gallon tank with
the pH at 6.8 the hardness at 4dH and the
KEEPING AND BREEDING
temperature at 83 degrees. I planted with a
Microgeophagus
few Anubias, some Water Sprite across the
altispinosa
top, and a large piece of drift wood with Java
moss. I also lay some flat rocks about the
(The Bolivian Ram)
member. As dithers, I added a small school of
I fed 3 times daily, with a rotating menu of
I have been in the hobby most of my life, but
somehow I never really got into the breeding
website, and decided to join. At my first
changes were done once per week, at 30% of
meeting I met a few people that were breeders
and I was instantly hooked. I just HAD to
breed some fish! As you can see by the title of
After about 6 weeks they had doubled in size
this article, my first breeding experience
and I knew I had a pair. There were 2 fish that
would hover above the same rock, and chase
all the other fish away. In talking to other
NAS members, I was told that this meant that
I first saw them at the store I happened to be
working in at the time. And as was customary
with fish that I was interested in, I put all 6 of
fishroom and there they were…. About 60 or
70 little eggs on top of the rock that they had
been defending. This batch ended up being
bloodworms, and chopped frozen krill, and
eaten, as did the 2nd batch. The 3rd batch
meanwhile, I did some reading. The book that
gave me the most information was American
swimming stage, but disappeared 2 days after.
As the spawns came with regularity, and I
discovered that it was recommended that the
became more familiar with the pre-spawning
pH be in the slightly alkaline range. I thought
behavior, I began to watch for it and one night
that this might present a problem, as my tap
water most always has a pH of 6.8. I tested
spawning right before my eyes! The female,
neutral. They seemed fine, so I didn't worry
would make a few passes over the rock, and
on the third or fourth pass she began to lay
develop nice round bellies, and good color. I
saw no sign of disease so I took them home.
keeping all of the other fish out of the area.
At this point, they were about 1 inch in total
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
turned the overhead light in the room out, got
For my first time, I must say, that it was
off of the telephone, and backed off a few
pretty problem free (except for so many of the
feet. After she had laid a dozen or so, the
male made some passes close to the eggs, and
probably feeding a bit heavy and bought the
I assume that he was fertlilizing them. This
Nitrogen content of the water up as a result. I
went on for 45 minutes to an hour or so, and
need to thank Sal, Don, and Ken for all of
when all was said and done, there were about
their help and advice, and especially for
75 to 100 eggs, in a tight little group. They
hatched in about 60 hours at 83 degrees, and
were free - swimming in about 72 hours. I
was told that it was probably the tetras and
not the parents eating the fry so as soon as the
anyway), is that good quality food and water
4th batch became free- swimming, I removed
them, filled a 5.5 gallon tank with water from
providing the fish with a proper environment
the parent tank, added a mature filter, some
with which to breed. If I was hooked before, I
Java moss, and put the babies in their own
tank. I started them with microworms as a
five different types of Apistos and will be
first food and fed 3 times daily. After about 2
trying my luck with them in the months to
weeks, I took some color flake, spirulina flake
crushed it into a powder. After about a week
of the flakes, I noticed that the number of fry
was becoming smaller. I thought that maybe I
wasn't changing the water enough, so I began
doing 25% every other day, but the babies
"Colored Atlas of
kept dying till I had only 10 left. At this point
Miniature Catfish"
I moved them to a 10-gallon tank ‘til they
were about 3/4 of an inch long and they were
While the rearing of the young was going on
When I think of the most active, some times
cutest and most over looked fishes, I think of
They spawned every 14 to 20 days or so. I
either the Corydoras, Brochis or Aspidoras
didn't have the room for so many of them so I
miniature catfish. I would venture to say that
decided to let nature take its course. I watched
most hobbyists do not realize that there are
carefully and was able to verify that it was
over 115 species of the genus Corydoras and
indeed the tetras eating the babies. They
approximately 14 species of the Aspidoras. I
would pick them off a few at a time.
recently had some limited success breeding
some Aspidoras catfish and was attempting to
breed some albino Corydoras. Then someone
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
breeding. I drew a blank, I didn't realize there
was more than one. So I looked around for a
descriptions of the species, care, feeding and
breeding habits. I found such a book.
The book "Colored Atlas of Miniature Catfish"
is a hard covered T.F.H. publication (TS-183)
written by DR. Warren E. Burgess. It is a 1992
advertisements normally associated with the
T.F.H. publications. This was a refreshing
experience. There are well over 300 color
(mixture) of photos and hand drawings of the
different species. There is an abundance of
information on each genus's natural habitant,
breeding habits and requirements. In some
cases I could get away with saying species
One thing that has always impressed me at club
knew the names of all the parts of the different
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
I have had B. modesta almost continuously
Although this individual fish was part of the
since 1980. I remember the year, because that’s
original “pack” that I had in the late ‘80s, it
the year that we moved to Trumbull. First I had
wasn’t tolerant of tankmates of other species. It
did put up with a skunk loach for about 18
thereabouts, I purchased four more fish from
months. (Maybe the modesta thought the skunk
former N.A.S. president Bruce Smith, who was
moving down south. I had these fellows in the
same tank, a twenty-nine, for many years. I
My modesta loaches would readily take flake
would occasionally see what looked like a nip,
food, although they loved meatier fare. (When
but I never saw any resulting damage. Which
Peek-a-boo stayed with his Uncle Ed, he loved
reinforces what I read in my reference book: “It
the worms that he got daily. What a great
is said that the fish will not tolerate other
uncle!) He also loved it when I would scour
my other tanks for some snails, and drop a few
into his tank. He would search out these snails
Over the years, I lost one then another. Usually
and eat them up, shell and all, crunching them
these losses were found on the floor, having
found some small opening in the tank cover.
I had this individual until 1999. He was at least
night?) There was one or two that I never
seventeen years old, but I feel that we would
found, they simply vanished. Perhaps they
have had him longer, if I hadn’t rushed a water
flopped somewhere that I couldn’t see. We
change. It was in a period of time when I was
don’t have any cats, so I’m not sure where else
trying to use rain water for some of water being
changed. I’m not sure if the rain water / tap water
mix was a little too cool, or if it was the pH, or if
By 1995 I was down to a single fish (and I had
there was some contamination in the rain water,
finally learned to be very careful about the
or if the loach didn’t agree with the Geo-Liquid
cover). I don’t name my fish, but he actually
that I tried. When the tank cleared, the loach was
got the name “Peek-a-boo” which hinted at his
covered with spots. I was kicking myself for my
shy nature. Actually he got this name when my
haste. “Peek-a-boo” didn’t make it.
mother-in-law was visiting once. She slept in
the family room where we had his tank. One
Well in the February 2000 auction, there was a
“orange finned loach.” Everybody, stand aside:
“Grandma Sarah” had gotten into her jammies,
I would not be outbid. He is now situated in a
we noticed a bath towel over the tank. “Let me
fifteen. There is a foot long piece of a four inch
hang that towel for you.” “No,” she said,
PVC pipe, which he likes to stay in … “Hide-n-
“Leave it there. If I wake up at night, that darn
seek” is still quite somewhat shy. Now, let’s go
fish is there looking at me!” Peek-a-boo got his
through these tanks … where are some snails?
Reference:Aquarium Atlas. Riehl, Dr. Rudger and
Baensch, Hans A. 1991, Tetra Press. P. 372
another, this fellow stayed in a spare tank with
its “Uncle” Ed Katuska for a month or so.Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
or crevice where is only one outlet, which the
female proceeds to block. Once she has the
Did you know?
male cornered the female lays approximately
leave once he has fertilized her eggs.It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s just a fish
season. I started the year off by diving into
the ocean and I brought back some interesting
fish facts to pass along. As usual, check out
leaving the water at a speed of 35 miles an
The Wacky Fish World segment for some
hour, gliding for 42 seconds, soaring as high
as 50 feet and covering a distance of 150 feet.
making headlines. Our editor, Doug DeMent,
knew the answer to last months trivia question
that I pretty much thought was a stumper, way
to go Doug. You can find the answer and a
The Wacky Fish World
new question at the end of this column. Some
of you trekky fans may know the answer.Goldfish hell
game sweeping Japan is replacing soft toys -
the lucky dip crane-grab game with goldfish.Did you know…
complaints of animal cruelty against an earlier
Taking your time
The slowest grower in the animal kingdom is
the Deep Sea Clam, Tindaria callistisormis,
designed the game to appeal to the Japanese
which lives in the North Atlantic and takes
love of festivals and fairs. Players try to
one hundred years to reach a length of 8mm.
maneuver an arm to try to scoop out one of
the 200 goldfish in the tank. KNT says “the
goldfish are wallowing in a luxurious tank
equipped with a water purifier and a ladle that
In the mood, NOW
snares them is made in soft fabric.” The initial
The male grunt sculpin really plays hard to
company has inquiries from South Korea and
get. Willing females chase the male grunts
until the female actually corners him in a cave
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001Pass the Dramamine please
laughing every time it is switched on and
starts to twich and croon. “The Queen thinks
Billy is a scream—he’s always on her piano,”
suffer from seasickness, according to a marine
A Balmoral insider told the paper. “It’s so
scientist. Erland Moksnes says a Norwegian
funny to see all these mounted deers’ heads
lighthouse keeper asked him to examine a cod
and stuffed animals hanging on the walls of
this grand room and there in the middle of it
strangely — relaxed but also distressed. Mr.
plague singing “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, the
water where it recovered after a few hours. He
concluded that the fish was suffering from
seasickness. He said “we humans have an
organ of balance associated with our ears
Last months trivia question
experience unexpected movements, as at sea.
The golden trout, Salmo aquabonita, believed
Fish have a similar organ which help them
to occur only in Golden Trout Creek, high in
orient themselves in the water so they can tell
the California Sierras, once bore a patronymic
scientific name in honor of a former, now
sideways. If a fish is caught up in rough seas
deceased, US president. Name this president.
it will become ill.” Once the fish recovered,
Sir Billy Bass
entertaining guests at her Balmoral estate in
This month trivia question
Scotland with renditions of “Don’t Worry Be
Happy” in a duet with a rubber singing fish.
The monarch has even mounted the grotesque
Generation” Captain Jean-Luc Picard had a
“Billy Bass” singing fish toy – which looks
pet lionfish, Pterois volitans, in his “ready
like an angler’s trophy – on top her grand
room.” Like most pets, this fish had a name.
piano. Buckingham Palace could not confirm
the bizarre report, but it stopped short of
ruling it out altogether. “The Queen may have
a singing fish, but more than that I couldn’t
say,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
member of the royal family and bursts out
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
constanciae and Pterolebias longipinnis can all
be spawned very successfully without having
THE PEAT DIVERS
any experience with the soil spawning killies.
Then again, there are some species that should
be tried only when the hobbyist has had success
with easier ones. Such species that may be
considered difficult might include Pterolebias
zonatus, Pterolebias hoignei and Cynolebias
When discussing their breeding habits, killifish
fall into three main categories: plant spawners,
comfortable in aquariums of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2
soil spawners and peat divers. In this article, I
gallons. Some of the larger species such as P.
zonatus or C. wolterstorffi can reach a size of
5 or 6 inches and therefore require a larger
interesting and unique breeding habits of all
killifish. Their spawning behavior is unique in
Filtration can be simple, a box filter being
that a pair will completely burrow or "dive"
quite adequate. Temperature plays a major
role in keeping peat diving killis (as well as
process. These fish are true annual species
all other killis). If kept at lower temperatures
with eggs capable of surviving extremely long
(64' to 68'F), the Cynolebias and Pterolebias
slowly but do not die as quickly as fish kept at
higher temperatures. At lower temperatures
they are also more active, in better colour and
In their natural habitat, the peat divers live in
small ponds and ditches in South America,
which evaporate during the dry season. The
In the aquarium the peat divers do not readily
adult fish die, leaving behind hundreds of eggs
accept dry foods, but live and frozen foods are
buried beneath the mud. On the arrival of the
wet season, the rain begins to fill up the dry
shrimp, live tubifex, live white worms and live
ponds. The eggs, which are embedded in the
or frozen mosquito larvae are all eaten readily.
mud and silt, begin to hatch into tiny fry that
A spawning medium must be used to breed the
will mature, reproduce and die in less than one
peat divers. The most commonly used medium
is peat moss or peat fibre. Two methods are
Some literature states that peat divers should
commonly used: 1) the margarine dish method
only be tried after the aquarist has successfully
and 2) the bowl method. Both ways work very
well and it is simply a matter of preference as
necessarily true. There are some species of
peat divers that are easily bred and equally
beautiful too. Cynolebias whitei, Cynolebias
aquarium of appropriate size (depending on the
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001
size and the temperament of the species),
dumped into a container (1 gal. tank, plastic
usually 2 1/2 to 10 gallons, containing a box
shoe box, etc.), and cool water (68' to 70' F), is
filter. The filter also serves as a hiding place
poured in to a depth of about 5 or 6". Most
for the female if the male gets too rough. The
eggs will hatch within 24 hours of their first
peat is placed in a margarine dish or something
wetting but some may not yet be quite ready. If
similar, to a depth of 3 or 4 inches. This allows
the hobbyist wishes to do so, he may collect the
the fish to bury themselves completely when
peat and store it again for another 3 or 4 weeks
spawning. The lid an be placed on the dish but
and then rewet it. This may result in more or
remember to cut a 3" hole in it to give the fish
less fry than the first attempt and the process
access. The lid helps to keep the peat moss in
can be repeated until no more fry hatch out.
the dish to some extent, during the spawning.
But one hatched, the fry are very easy to raise.
Most are large enough to accept newly hatched
brine shrimp or microworms immediately.
Some species such as C. boitonei and A. affinis
contain eggs, is placed into a fine mesh net to
are rather small and would benefit from feeding
of infusoria for a day or two before starting on
squeezed out. When the peat is dried to the
brine shrimp. With steady feedings and partial
consistency of fresh chewing tobacco it is put
into a plastic bag, sealed and labeled with the
Pterolebias species can start to sex out in four
name of the species, the date collected and the
weeks while Cynolebias species can be sexed
The bowl method employs a gallon goldfish
In closing I would like to recommend these
bowl as a breeding tank. The fish are first kept
fish for anyone who is looking for something
in a conditioning tank either together or
separately. Fish that are kept together will not
Pterolebias species lack the brilliant colours
spawn as long as there is no spawning medium.
of other killifish, they surely make up for it
When the females have filled with eggs the
with their graceful finnage and attractive
breeders are introduced into the spawning bowl
which has been filled to a depth of 3 or 4" with
peat moss. No feeding should be done while
the fish are in the spawning bowl. After about
either greens, blues (light and dark), turquoise
or black colouring, covered with small light
spawned out, the breeders are put back into
blue or white dots or stripes, producing a very
their original tank to be conditioned for the next
striking pattern. The colour of Cynolebias
breeding session. The peat in the breeding
splendens will make any marine buff think
bowl is removed and processed as before.
twice. Imagine if you would, a fish about
When the proper incubation time has passed,
two inches in length with alternate vertical
the eggs are ready to be hatched. Incubation
bars of intense "Paris" green and vermillion
time for Cynolebias and Pterolebias species
ranges from 1 1/2 months to almost a year.
When hatching time has arrived, the peat is
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001REGULAR MEETINGS AND PROGRAMSN.A.S. EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Meetings are on the third Thursday of each month
N.A.S. will exchange its publication with other societies
except July and December, starting 8:00 PM at the
Nature Center for Environmental Activities, 10
Articles may be reprinted by not-for-profit aquarium
Woodside Lane, Westport. Meetings are open to
societies by acknowledging the source and sending us
members and the public. Each meeting includes a short
two copies (one for our library, one for the author).
business meeting, refreshments, a raffle of goods, and aprogram/event.WET PET GAZETTE ADVERTISING RATESThe Wet Pet Gazette will offer a web page on our webBOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETINGS
site for any business that will display and offer our
Board of Directors' (BOD) meetings are held in
membership flyers. (We supply the flyers, the business
member's homes. They are generally but not always the
first Thursday of the month. You do not need to be aboard member to attend or to host a BOD meeting.
For ad spaces in the Journal, the cost per issue is
Attending a BOD meeting is an excellent way to get
better acquainted in the society, it also gives you a
chance to see another aquarist's set-up. Just let the
These ads must be paid in advance of printing.
host/hostess know if you plan to attend. Hosting a BODmeeting is an excellent way to have some experiencedhobbyists review your set-ups. Just let a BOD member
AFFILIATIONS
know that you are interested in hosting a meeting and
N.A.S. is a member of the Federation of American
when. The BOD will gladly relocate a meeting to a
Aquarium Societies (FAAS), and the North East Council
Norwalk Aquarium SocietyP.O. Box 84South Norwalk, CT 06856Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001